Arabian horse, earliest improved breed of horse, valued for its speed, stamina (seephotograph), beauty, intelligence, and gentleness. The breed’s long history has been obscured by legend, but it had been developed in Arabia by the 7th century ad. The Arabian horse has contributed its qualities to most of the modern breeds of light horses.

The Arabian breed is a compact, relatively small horse with a small head, protruding eyes, wide nostrils, marked withers, and a short back. It usually has only 23 vertebrae, while 24 is the usual number for other breeds. The horse’s average height is about 15 hands (60 inches, or 152 cm), and its average weight ranges from 800 to 1,000 pounds (360 to 450 kg). It has strong legs and fine hooves. The coat, tail, and mane are of fine, silky hair. Although many colours are possible in the breed, gray prevails. The most famous stud farm is in the region of Najd, Saudi Arabia, but many fine Arabian horses are now bred elsewhere.

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a hoofed, herbivorous mammal of the family Equidae. It comprises a single species, Equus caballus, whose numerous varieties are called breeds. Before the advent of mechanized vehicles, the horse was widely used as a draft animal, and riding on horseback was one of the chief means of transportation....

...of the Roman breeds and the gradual development—especially during the era of Charlemagne in the late 8th and early 9th centuries—of improved types, owing largely to the importation of Arabian stock. The most important of these was the “great horse,” which originated in the Low Countries; its size and strength were required to carry the heavy load of the armoured...

The Arabian, the oldest recognized breed of horse in the world, is thought to have originated in Arabia before 600 ce. Though its history is lost in the past, the breed probably descended from the Libyan horse, which in turn was probably preceded by horses of similar characteristics in Assyria, Greece, and Egypt as early as 1000 bce. The Arabian may be bay, gray, chestnut, brown, black, or...